A number of different types of broom, brush and mop constructions exist in the prior art. The following are some examples with brief associated descriptions.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,735,644 to Hill describes a combination scrubbing brush and mop holder.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,689,967 to Mackey describes an industrial broom with a swivel joint.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,799,037 to Grogan describes a broom and handle construction with an adjustable positioning of the handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,882,802 to LeVere, Jr. describes a broom holder for accepting a number of different commercially available broom handle adaptor attachments.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,138 to Flamm describes a combination sweeping tool and scraping tool.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,128,800 to Vosbikian describes a broom provided with a rotatable brush head connected to a handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,523,212 to Cesak et al. describes a push broom bracket device for connecting a rectangular-shaped broom brush head to a rod-shaped handle.
None of the foregoing prior art patents describe any broom and handle arrangement in which the handle is readily movable relative to the broom head to assume either an upright free-standing position or a use or action position.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved cleaning apparatus, particularly an improved push broom structure and in which the coupling between the handle and the broom head incorporates a pivot mechanism that enables the broom to be either in a rest position or an action position.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved cleaning apparatus, particularly in the form of a push broom or mop construction and in which the aforementioned rest and action positions can be switched therebetween in a readily effective manner.